\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), born in London of Italian-Jewish parentage, made an early name for himself as a noveli
st. However, he also became a statesman, leading the æYoung EnglandÆ movement that espoused anti-industrial values. He served twice as prime minister, piloting the 1867 Reform Bill through the Commons. The following passage is taken from \i Sybil; or,
the Two Nations\i0 , written in 1845:\par
\par
\i The situation of the rural town of Marney was one of the most delightful easily to be imagined. In a spreading dale, contiguous to the margin of a clear and lively stream, surrounded by meadows and ga
rdens, and backed by lofty hills, undulating and richly wooded, the traveller on the opposite heights of the dale would often stop to admire the merry prospect that recalled to him the traditional epithet of his country.\par
Beautiful illusion! For behi
nd that laughing landscape, penury and disease fed upon the vitals of a miserable population.\par
The contrast between the interior of the town and its external aspect was as striking as it was full of pain. With the exception of a small agricultural m
arket town, some sombre mansions, a dingy inn, and a petty bourse, Marney mainly consisted of a variety of narrow and crowded lanes formed by cottages built of rubble, or unhewn stone without cement, and... looking as if they could scarcely hold togethe
r... Before the doors of these dwellings... ran open drains full of animal and vegetable refuse, decomposing into disease...\par
